Christ is the
Mystery no 166
Vindicated
Word in His Body
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Before we go to brother Branham's Message Christ is the Mystery of God
Revealed and read from the next paragraph, I would like to first for our text,
read from two Scriptures.
If you will open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2
and Colossians chapter 2.
Ephesians 2:1 And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among
whom also we behaved ourselves in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works,(that word is ergon which is the same as used in John
14:12) lest any man should boast. 10 For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, (and
this is the same word ergon used in John
Let us pray,
Notice then we are not saved by doing the works of John 14:12.
That is not what will save us. But rather he says, He (God) ordained that we should walk in them.
Then it is not a work as though that work is something you have to do or else. But
rather it is a work that is predestined, we have been ordained by God to do
them.
In other words, "Romans
And the scripture also says in Philippians
And we also read in Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again
from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make
you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I hope then you can see that it is God doing the work in you and through
you, because he ordained before the foundations of the world to work the works
of Christ in you. Then it is not you doing, but God doing, and he's just
borrowing your body as He borrowed the body of His dear son Jesus.
Then if it is God who "ordained that we
should walk in them," then who are we to put that off the works
of Christ to just one person as if that one person did them for us. In other
words, if we are ordained to do them, then you can't help but to do them, for
it is not you doing them, but the foreordination of "God working in you to will and to do." And if you are ordained to it, it is because
that is your nature.
And the Apostle Paul told us in Romans 8:11 But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you.
And also we read in Colossians 2:9 For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power: 11 In whom
also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, (this shows that not only have we died but our body
has been put under) wherein also ye are risen
with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 And you,
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses;
That promise is for All our trespasses. every single
last one of them. Forgiven! Halelujah!!
As I mentioned in a
sermon a few months ago, if we have truly died to self, and have placed our
sins under the bleach blood of the innocent one, Christ, and since he took the
punishment for our sins, and having received His Spirit to live out our lives
for us, then we can never again receive punishment for those sins which have
been covered, seeing you do not dig up a dead person to punish them after they
have been buried. Only the Catholic church does that
as they did those priests who burned Joan of Arc at the stake.
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a
show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore
judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new
moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are
a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ. And you hath he quickened,
who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Now, this takes us to the next paragraph in brother
Branham's sermon, Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed, 285 Notice the
vindicated Word in His Body is His very victory and the reason of
His death. See, the death, not in the Spirit... When He died, He only died
in the flesh; His Spirit went to hell and preached to the souls in prison.
Is that right? His flesh only died, then He raised it up again and quickened
it ("Quicken," means "made
alive."), His flesh, which was His Body" (and that's
the Word). It's been laying dead for years, but It gradually begin to come in
the reformation, and now She's standing up on Her
feet.
Now,
the key to what brother Branham is telling us here is that the death is only to
the flesh. Jesus had to die to self in
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Now,
when did Jesus overcome? In the
Souls in prison now 63-1110M P:94 Jesus even prayed to dodge the cross. "Is it possible that the cup should pass," said, "nevertheless,
not My will, Thine."
Communion 57-0418 P:14 Now, if God did not spare His Own Son from the cruel testing, then He
will not spare you or I from the cruel testing. And Jesus was here
confronting the greatest test that He had ever had. Gethsemane laid just before
Him, where that once and final all-sufficient test must come, when the burdens
of the entire world laid upon His blessed shoulder. There
was no one in all heavens or earth could ever stood it
but Him. And to know that all of the sins, of past sins,
and present sins, and future sins, rested upon this decision. And it
was one of the most greatest victories that Christ ever won or proved His
great Messiahship, as when He said to God, "Not My will; Thine be done." That
was the greatest victory He had ever won. All the demons of torment was around to tempt Him and try Him. And when we get
right with God, when our hearts become pure and the Holy Spirit has taken Its place in our heart, it's the most glorious thing to have
testing. The Bible tells us that our testings and
trials are more precious to us than silver and gold of this world. So we should
be thankful.
Melchisedec the Great Prince 55-0109M P:68 My
greatest victories, the greatest pleasures I have, is when I come up against
something I can't see over it, around it, or under it; I just keep walking
towards it, believing this: that God will make a way when I get there.
And that is what I've had to do many times whether I was in Africa and
the storm was so great you couldn't hear yourself preach, or in South America
and the heat was so hot 110 degrees, and the people were suffering in their
seats, and even down here in Kentucky back in 1997 when the temperature had
been 102 for so many days and was so hot, the brethren were suffering and sick.
It matters not when, it matters not where, it matters not why, it matters not what
it is, because if Jesus promised us in John
Brother Branham said from his sermon, Have
faith in God 54-0900 P:27 And Jesus said, "If thou
canst believe. Well, all things are possible to them that believe." Is that right? Only
believe, for all things are possible to them that believe. That's just as real today as it was the very hour He spoke
it. All things are possible to them that believe.
Spiritual food in due season 65-0718E P:6 God teaches it in His Word and then proves it to them who will believe
it, for He said, "All things are possible to them that believe."
You say, "There's nothing impossible with God." You believe that? There's
nothing impossible with you either, for "All things are possible to them
(God is one Person), to them that believe." See? So there's nothing impossible with you, for you, if you can
only believe.
Book of Exodus 2 55-1006E P:14 The
greatest experiences of my life, is when I come up against a mountain that I
can't get over it, under it, or around it. And just stand still, and God will move the
thing back. And He will move, no matter how dark the cloud is, faith pierces
it yonder with a eye that looks beyond anything
that the Devil can set before you. 'Cause God is our victory.
Amen.
God Commissioning Moses The Prophet 3-0508 37 Don't be scared to ask. Ask abundantly. "You have not, because you ask not. You ask not, because you believe not." That's right. Ask, ask a whole lot. God will give you a whole
lot. Have a lot of faith.
Accepting God's Provided Way 63-0115 68 Well, that's the way we're supposed to do. If I see a promise in the
Bible that's God's Word, then I just stay there and cry out till God gives
it to me. And He'd do that to get you off His hands. You see? That
would be in the natural. But He's wanting
you to do it. He likes for you to ask. "Ask abundantly that your joys might be full." Yeah,.
Cry until His Word is a-vindicated. Now, friend, let's watch just a
minute now. Cry until the Word is a-vindicated. The trouble of it
is, we get a cookie and think that's all there is. There's a whole table
full. We get so we can speak in tongues; we say "Oh, brother, that's
it." Oh, no. That ain't it. That's just some of it. That's right.
"Oh, I got happy enough to shout." That's some more of it. But
there's a whole lot more of it. Just keep on crying out until... That's God's
provided way for His people. God's provided way always is to take His Word
and hold onto It until It's a-vindicated to you.
Now, do you follow me? God, a provided way, Hold on to the
promise until it's made manifest to you.
God's chosen place worship 65-0220 P:45 What a beautiful thing. God had a certain place He met Abraham, and
there Abraham worshipped. All down through the Testament... And His promised
Word will be interpreted in you by Him. Did you get that? The
Word that He promised to fulfill in the day that you're living in, you will be a written epistle of God, read of all men.
Not what you claim, but what God does through you will speak out louder than
anything you could claim. God said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." That speaks through you. He spoke of this age, what
would be now. The believers of this age has to
believe this, what He promised today. Just the same as they had to come
into the ark to be saved, go out of Egypt to be saved, they have to come into
Christ to be saved now, into the Word Message that He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever. How do you get into it? By
Baptism. Baptism of what, water? By the Holy Ghost. One Spirit we're all baptized into this
one Body.
What it takes to Overcome all unbelief 60-0729 55 Now, how are we planted? We're planted in Christ Jesus. Now, I
believe, just in my estimation of Him. He's the inexhaustible fountain of Life,
that you cannot exhaust His goodness. Some people think, "Oh, I hate to call on God so much."
That's what He wants you to do. "You have not because you ask not. You ask not because you believe not.
Ask abundantly that your joys might be full." That's what God wants: Ask big things. I'm asking for
hundreds of souls in this meeting. I'm asking that every sick person enters
that door will go out of here well. I'm believing
it.
Why do you think his ministry was so much like that of Jesus Christ? Because
he believed God's Word and that God is more than able to make His Word come to
pass. And you claim to believe this message and you don't believe the same
thing that he believed? Then you're not a believer. get
to be a believer first and then watch the word manifest itself all around you,
in you and through you.
That's what he said in his sermon, Influence
of Another 62-1013 41 Remember,
we can have what we want if we will ask in faith believing. Jesus said,
"All things are possible to them
that will believe. You have not because you ask not, and you ask not because
you believe not." He said, "Ask abundance that your joy may be full." I like that. Our teaching right: say the right
thing; do the right thing; think the right thing; always be thinking right.
And I have a little slogan: Do right, that's your duty to God. Think right,
that's your duty to yourself; And you're bound to come
out right. Jesus said, ask abundantly and Elisha that is a type of the church wasn't afraid to
ask for great things. Here he was in the day of Elijah, and when he was told to
ask what he will, he asked for double what God had given to Elijah. He
asked for a double portion and got what he asked for. Job got back a
double portion of everything he had lost. He wasn't afraid to ask it from God.
And He got back exactly what he asked for, and he got his family back
that had been lost and he got them back because he asked for them.
And what about you? You all have loved ones who have gone astray or who have never seen
this light. That don't mean they can't be saved, ask abundantly and your joy
shall be filled.
Thy House 61-0808 P:44 But you understand what I mean now to believe? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thy and thy house shall be saved." Believe for yourself, and believe for your house, and
you shall have it. Say, "Well, the doctor said I can't get well."
Well, if thou can believe on the Lord, you can get well." Well, I'm
out of work." But if you'll believe on the Lord (See?),
and you shall have work. "And I don't know what to do about
this situation." Believe on the Lord. Look where it sets with me right
now, and wife there. I've always thought the Lord wanted me to leave
Token the 63-0901M P:151 That's what they did in
One of the meanest men in town 61-0429B P:26 The Philippian jailer, down at
Thy House 61-0808 P:30 Now, if
Job took a act upon the very thing that God told him to do, the only thing it
was to be righteous, was to offer a burnt offering; that was righteous... And He
saved Job and his house, then what is righteous
before God? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou and thy house shall be saved." So,
if I'm believing for my house and you're believing for your house, by
believing that that we trust God, God imputes
our own faith, like He did Abraham or Job or
any of them for righteousness. You see? So, it's allotted to us for
righteousness, and that's how that thou and thy household shall be
saved. Oh, I think it's a wonderful thing. So then, not only that, but I'm
holding for every brother, all my brothers. My sister.
I'm not only holding for that, but I'm holding for every person that's in my
church; I'm holding for you all. I want you to hold for me, because
of the righteousness of faith. We don't have to make a burnt offering; Christ
is our offering. But we have to have faith in that offering that Christ
made, that He made us this kind of a promise, that
"Whatever you ask the Father in My
Name, that I'll do. When thou prayest, believe that
you receive what you've asked for and you shall have it."
Jehovah Jireh 61-0209 P:34 Now, we find out after this dispensation, then it lasted on, that
legalistic dispensation, until the real royal Seed come. Then He taken all the
legalism upon Himself, and paid the price of
redemption, and God's Church is back in grace again. Not under the law and
legalism, it's under grace and the promise of God, the true Seed of Abraham.
He taken the law upon Himself and the law nailed Him to the cross, of what we
must do, and must not do, and must do, and must not do.Y
ou know the thing of it today, when a sinner comes to
the Lord, we don't treat them like Paul did when the Philippian
jailer said, "What must I do to be saved?" Now, what would we say today? "You got to quit smoking; you got to
quit drinking; you got to quit doing this."That
wasn't what he asked. He said, "What must I do to be saved?" And Paul
told him, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, not, "Come, join our congregation, and
stand up before the church, and say this, and we'll sprinkle you, immerse you,
or whatever you want to do, our way. And if you're not in our church,
then..." That wasn't it. He said, "Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou and thy house shall be
saved." If you can believe for yourself,
you can believe for your house also. Have enough faith in God to believe
for yourself, then believe for your children also.
That same faith will save your children that saved you. If you just
keep praying. God will answer prayer, don't worry. Just ask Him, and
believe it, and get it anchored in your heart, and just keep moving on.
That's the way it's done. Yes, sir.
I hear too much people say, "if it be thy
will God, if it be thy will?" Listen, either you
know His will or yu don't. his
Word is His will, right? Then cut out the if it will
be thy will. Jesus never said, if it be thy will, he said I know thy will, and I know my will, and my will says spare me the cup I must go through,
but nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done. There is no
Scripture for saying, "if it be thy will o God." get
that out of your mind forever. How can you expect to get anything from God if
you don't even know his Will concerning your offspring being with you on the
other side.
There is not ifs, ands
or buts about it. goats but, sheep don't
but. get that if it be thy will out of your mind and
never let the devil place it back in there again.
Did not the Holy spirit promise us in Acts 2:39
For the promise is unto you, and
to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call.
And what promise is that? We are told in Isaiah
65:21 And
they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and
they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They
shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat:
for as the days of a tree are the days of my
people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they
are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it
shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are
yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf
and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 44:3b I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing
upon thine offspring:
Where I think Pentecost Failed 55-1111 14 And God will never, You can never
exhaust God's love and mercy to you. You say, "Well, I hate to bother You so much, Father." He wants to be bothered that way. He does. Don't never think
that you could ever ask too much of God. I believe the Scripture said,
"You have not, because you ask not. And
you ask not, because you believe not." He
wants us to ask and believe that our joys would be full. He wants you to ask
abundantly. Ask for big things; don't limit your faith
to some little mustard seed. Get on out here to some other kind of faith, and
move out in big things. Ask... Big things is just as
easy to receive as little things. You just have to believe; that's all.
And you got faith, just know exactly how to use it, and it'll be all right.
You can put it right to work and it'll just be fine.15 Could
you imagine, talking about exhausting God's love, and power, and beneficiaries
for you. Could you imagine a little bitty fish, about that long, way out here
in the middle of the ocean say, "Now, wait a minute.
I better consider this thing. I better drink of this water sparingly, 'cause I
might run out someday." A little fish, about that big, in the middle of
this ocean out here... Well, that could easily be done, more
easier than you could ask too much of God. He's the inexhaustible Fountain
of Life. Whatever you have need of, ask Him and believe it. He
provided it in the redemptive blessings when He died at
In closing let's turn to 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in
him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth
us: if we know that he hears us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
That's what the Apostle John taught us. And that is the key is, that you know that he hears you, then ask away. Brother Branham quoted Jesus saying, "Ye have not because ye ask not, ask abundantly that your joy
may be full. Give God back his own Word and watch how quickly he
answers your request. And Study God's Word because there are
over 800 promises of God in His Word to every one of us.
God loves to hear His own Word given back to Him, so "ask and believe that you receive. If any man see his brother sin a sin
which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for
them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that
he shall pray for it.
Let us bow our head in prayer.